


MEA CULPA

by DeadStar



Category: The Town (2010)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2017-12-31 16:58:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1034097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadStar/pseuds/DeadStar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mea Culpa - Latin phrase meaning  "through my fault"</p><p>Kate Riley left Ireland when she was very young, her mother divorced her father and took her two youngest away from the homeland, away from her older siblings and away from the only father she knew. Kate's life has been a myriad of tragedy, depression, violence and an emptiness but all that changes one day when she gets a visitor from Boston and sets off to rediscover not only her past but what it means to be a Riley.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. THE PAST

**Author's Note:**

> No, Beta, new work and will get back to other stories soon but this idea popped into my head after rewatching The Town and the brilliant Boondock Saints and the very lovely Macmanus Brothers! However, the story is more fitting for The Town and everyone's favourite bad boy, Jem Coughlin.

Kate Riley had been in Boston for what seemed like an age when in actuality it had only been three days, three long and laborious days spent catching up with her father and her six older siblings. Kate was the youngest of seven children born to John and Maggie Riley from Belfast although Kate never grew up in Belfast herself not when her mother divorced her father and moved herself and the two youngest across the pond to England and the home counties. Whilst their mother had the broadest of Irish accents both Kate and her brother Aidan grew up sounding English rather than Irish, a bone of contention still in the Riley household where her father was concerned.

Her mother, Maggie, raised her two children well and initially both were Grade A students with promising and bright careers to their names until Kate turned 14 and her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. This turn of events impacted Kate quite hard and in her way to cope with the stress and her mothers eventual passing, Kate’s life started to slowly slide downhill. Her brother being 16 at the time and not considered an adult was not allowed to take care of his younger sister and so both of them were considered wards of the state unless family members stepped forth and offered to take them in.

None of them ever did, not because they didn’t want to but because none of them knew of Maggie’s passing. Kate was bounced around several foster homes and during her transition period from young teenager to adult at the age of 18 she had already garnered herself a juvenile record for all manner of things including shoplifting, breaking and entering, burglary and the piece de la resistance, nicking cars and selling them on for a small profit to a local cut and shut business.

Her brother Aidan on the other hand had not fallen into the Riley trap of becoming a criminal, he had actively sought out a better life for himself and had joined the British Army. He had given Kate a warning and had offered to put her on the straight and narrow back in the early days but Kate was far too rebellious for him to deal with and so he had left her fate in her own hands.

It was standing in front of a judge at the age of 22 after being arrested for bodily assault that the judge had given her a choice, either join the Army like her brother had done and set an example to those around her or go to jail for a period of six years. The prospect of going to jail did not entertain the young Kate and neither did joining the army but it was the lesser of two evils she had chosen and so four days later had found herself on a bus heading for Bulford Camp where after six months of basic training she went to her regiment where she spent the next eight years learning her trade craft and becoming good at her job.

She left the army at the age of 30, she had enjoyed the work but after many tours of Iraq and Afghanistan had suffered depression shortly after one mission had gone quite badly and ended with a number of her squad dead and herself on long term sick until eventually her commanding officer suggested that maybe her time in the Army was finished. Post Traumatic Stress they had called it, despondent with her life and feeling like she had achieved nothing personally, she had ironically left with high flying recommendations but the job prospects in London weren’t that brilliant and over a couple of years she had gotten herself a job behind a bar in some back of beyond shit hole serving drinks to mostly the London underworld.

It was just after her thirty sixth birthday that she was approached by a man who had recognised her name, had sat listening as she imparted some family back history to some woman who sat on the other side of the bar as the two women celebrated the fact that their families were probably to blame for the shitty childhood they experienced although Kate couldn’t really blame her mother for her downward spiral, that was all her own creation but still. The man listened and interjected, informing her that he knew of her father and her brothers and that all of them had left Ireland not long after Maggie had left , moving to Boston to raise his remaining kids but always sad that he never managed to locate his two youngest.

“Your old man spent thousands on private investigators looking for you and your brother, spent years trying to track you down.” he had said, an American accent lingering as Kate looked up as she slid a bottle of beer across to the woman in front of her.

“Well, he didn’t look hard enough, not as if I’ve been hiding” she muttered as she took the money passed to her and deposited it in the till before moving across to another patron.

“Your old man is desperate to see you both, its been one of his wishes to find you two kids again, reuniting the family” the man replied as he leant against the bar and watched as the woman departed leaving him alone with Kate.

“Not interested” Kate replied as she wiped her hands on a cloth and nodded over to one of the other servers to take over.

“Your Dad’s made a good go of it in Boston, whole family has a thriving business, all the brothers working together just missing two pieces of the Riley puzzle” the man drummed his fingers on the worn oak bar as he set a side long glance down either end of the room before looking back at her.

“Well, good for him” she said in a monotone voice that didn’t betray her feelings.

“Here, he told me if I ever found you that I should give you these…use them or don’t, up to you but I know he would want to see you” as he pulled out an envelope from inside his thick woolen coat and slid it over to her before making his exit from the bar.

Kate eyed the manila envelope that sat looking up at her from the wooden bar, no writing on it just a plain windowless envelope that begged her to open it as soon as possible. She picked it up and turned it over in her hands as she looked back up and watched the doors swing close behind the middle aged man that had left the envelope for her.

It wasn’t until the end of her shift and she was holed up in front of the television half watching an episode The Walking Dead that she glanced over to the coffee table where the envelope sat still unopened. The lights were off in her small flat, the television providing the only lit source of power as she threw the blanket she was curled up under to one side and reached for the manila envelope.

There was an air of apprehension as she slid her finger along the gummed flap that held the contents together therein, when the flap was popped open she felt something slide from inside and out onto her lap tossing the now empty envelope back down on the table before her. Turning the smaller white flapped envelope over she opened it to see two open journey plane tickets to Boston and a brief note from her father.


	2. HOME

He wanted to see his kids, the kids he thought he would never get to see again, she looked at the details printed on the British Airways tickets and noted the date of departure was in four days time.

So, just like that he expected her to just run to Boston to see him with open arms and expression of love, she made a disgruntled noise and threw the tickets down on the coffee table before reaching across to the remote control to switch the TV off.

The plane tickets remained on her coffee table for the next two days, unmoved, as she went about her business all the while doing her best to completely ignore their presence there in her living room but it was getting harder and harder to do.

It was the day before departure and she had told Frank at the bar that she needed some time off, he was okay with it being an ex serviceman himself he knew when someone said they needed space to sort some personal shit out that he didn’t question it and so gave her the time she would need to do what needed to be done.

So it was with some trepidation that she stood at the main doors of Logan Airport after passing through the strict security protocols in place as well as customs who seemingly gave her passport a good going over before allowing her to pass through wishing her a ‘nice day’.

Shouldering the one and only heavy duty holdall she had brought with her she slid on her sunglasses and stepped through the doors to a cool spring day and whilst it wasn’t cold, it wasn’t so warm either but the fitted leather jacket she wore kept some of the cool breeze that invaded her space from off her skin.

The sun however was quite harsh beating down its rays as she looked down the rank of taxi’s that formed an orderly queue waiting for their next customer. Pulling out the piece of paper that had come with the plane tickets she looked at the address and then back up at one of the drivers waiting for their next fare. She was about to go towards one of them when a young man intercepted her and held out his hand as he introduced himself.

“God, I hope you’re her, Miss Riley? I’m Desmond Elden, mostly people just call me Dez…ahh, Fergie asked me to come get ya” he introduced himself, he seemed like a bag of nerves and someone who had dropped a huge amount of acid all at the same time as she pensively shook his hand.

He motioned towards a car at the back of the line of cabs and she followed him slowly as he continued his bantering about the cold Boston weather, something sports related followed soon after and then he mentioned that name again, Fergie, the only Fergie she had ever known in her life was an Uncle Fergus when she was a child and the term Uncle was used lightly.

“Fergie?” she asked as he took her bag from her and put it on the back seat before opening the passenger door open for her to get in then closing it soon after, jogging around to the drivers side and getting in.

“Fergus Colm, he works for your Da, kinda like my boss” Dez smiled as he started the vehicle and put it into gear.

The car ride to their destination was made in relative silence as she watched the leafy suburbs slowly pass by in the passenger window as the city opened up from its sprawling metropolis. It reminded her somewhat of London, its nice areas falling away to the more rough looking areas, the kinds of places you wouldn’t choose as your first choice of accommodation but some were born into it and knew no other home. Hammersmith in London was one such place. It had its good points and its not so good points and it was in the latter half where Kate fell in but at the end of the day it was home.

“So, here we are” Dez pulled the car to a stop and got out, running around to the passenger side and opening it up not like she waited for him to do it, no, she was just looking up at the rather large brownstone building before her.

Getting out, she looked up and down the tidy street, obviously this being the nicer end of the neighbourhood as she turned to take her holdall from out of Dez’s hands. Pulling off her sunglasses she watched as the large set of double doors at the top of a set of stairs opened up and a man who must of been in his early sixties stood with what looked like a mixture of happy emotion and a kind of sadness on his face.

Kate felt some odd mix of emotion herself, she didn’t really know what her father looked like only the photos that her mother had kept from all those years ago but to see him now an older man, she could make out some similarities from those photos but any personal recognition was not forthcoming.

They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity as they eyed each other up and down but the facial features on the man that was her father softened almost immediately as he walked down the steps and thanked Dez for his time pressing some money she assumed into the palm of his hand before dismissing him.

“Katherine” he almost whispered in what sounded like Irish with a hint of a Bostonian accent thrown in for good measure. As the car started and drove off back down the road, John Riley looked her dead in the eyes, looking for some kind of affirmation.

“Hello Dad” she replied in her broad London accent.

“My baby girl’s come home” he smiled.


	3. 10 MINUTE CAR RIDE

Gloansy pushed the lump of beef patty down with the spatula and smiled when he heard the familiar hiss of meat on a hot barbeque, he had been looking forward to some good old home made beef burgers and not that cheap stuff that Dez would insist on buying from that crap hole down the road. His mouth salivated at the thought of eating the big assed meat patty between a toasted bun, melted cheese and pickles and slowly he licked his lips in anticipation whilst behind him Doug and Jem sat at the outside garden table knocking back a beer and arguing over some sport related bullshit from the game the night before.

“Where da fuck is Dez anyway?” Doug’s voice finally broke Gloansy’s meat feast induced daydream.

“Picking up a package for Fergie” he replied over his shoulder as he expertly flipped the burger and relished at the sound it made on the hot grill once more.

“What fucking package?” Jem asked as Gloansy turned to meet two pairs of eyes boring into him.

“I don’t know, didn’t say, just that Fergie called him early on this morning and told him to go to Logan Airport” Gloansy shrugged his shoulders and looked up in time to see his wife exit the back door of their home with a huge bowl of salad as well as a tray of other condiments placing then down on the table before disappearing back inside the house.

“Fucker never asks Dez to do a job on his own” Jem muttered as he heard the familiar sound of Dez’s car round the corner and pull to a stop.

“Can ask him yourself” Gloansy pointed with his spatula at the incoming sight of their friend as he pushed his car keys into the pocket of his jacket and received the beer that had been held out for him by Doug.

“Logan huh?” Doug said as he watched Dez take a seat and take a long drink from the beer bottle, a slight nod of his head.

“Yeah” he replied.

“And?” Jem leaned forwards on his arms and waited for a better explanation.

“And what?” asked Dez.

“Quit fuckin’ stalling” Jem pointed at him with his half drunk bottle of beer as Dez let out a small laugh before leaning back in the chair.

“Alright, Jesus. Fergie called me to go pick up some broad from the airport and take her to the Riley’s home, said the old man was having family come over from the UK, a reunion of some kind” Dez answered honestly as Doug let out a sigh.

“So, what she like?” Gloansy asked as all eyes looked back to Dez who shrugged his shoulders again.

“Tall, long dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, amazing grey eyes y’know. Looked like she liked to work out, some muscles going on under that tight fitting leather jacket she wore but it was those shit kicking boots she wore that gave me a tingle all over” Dez laughed at himself as Doug shook his head.

“She sound all lah dee fucking dah” Gloansy laughed as he flipped the patty once more before taking it off the grill with the others and bringing them to the table.

“Nah, nothing like it. Didn’t have her Da’s accent either....had an edge to it, nah, sounded like that guy who did that driving film...you know the one, has a Chinese girl in the trunk of his car and doesn’t know it” replied Dez as he made to pick up a toasted bun in order to fill it.

“What fuckin’ film is that?” Gloansy sat himself down next to Doug and looked around the table as Doug nodded, understanding what Dez was telling them.

“Transporter” Doug replied as he took his own bun and placed a hefty beef meat patty on the bottom half of the bun.

“Never seen it” Gloansy muttered.

“Got a lot of explosions, shooting and ass kicking...you’d like it Gloans” Doug smiled as he topped off his burger with a good squirt of ketchup and squashed the top half of the bun down before picking up the huge burger.

“Plenty of fancy driving in fancy eastern European cars as well if I remember right” Dez replied through a half chewed mouthful of burger.

“Fergie’s up to his balls in debt with the Riley’s, become their patsy now” Jem muttered as he swallowed another large mouthful of beer.

“I don’t care much, old man Riley gave me two hundred dollars for a thirty minute job so I aint complaining” Dez wiped his mouth and took a draw from the bottle before him.

“Two hundred? Jesus” Doug shook his head and let out a sigh, easiest two hundred any of them had made in a long time.

“Didn’t know old man Riley had a daughter, never heard anything bout it...I mean must be his kid, got that Riley look y’know, the kind that says don’t fuck with me or I’ll fix ya a new asshole” Dez sighed and looked down at the paper plate with his half finished burger and slowly wiped his hands.

“Not as if there isn’t a enough of them fuckers running around anyway” Jem said as he bit into his burger.

“How many are there anyway?” Gloansy asked, a conversation which was open to debate for the next hour as the men sat around the table discussing everything from Fergie’s useless time wasting and Dez’s new found interest in the new addition to the Riley household.

It was well into the late hours of the evening when the men started to make their way home, Dez had offered to drive both Doug and Jem home but both men had declined and had decided to walk off their earlier evening dinner. Both had discussed in more detail what Dez had told them about the new Riley addition, both had also spent some of the evening joking with Dez that he had grown an attachment to the unknown woman the way his eyes would glaze over and the skin on his face flushed.

“Ten minute fuckin’ car ride and the boy is in love” Jem shook his head as the pair of them steadily made their way home.

“Well, as long as Fergie don’t hear him going on about it” Doug muttered as he looked ahead towards home.

Jem muttered something under his breath which Doug didn’t quite catch but was in no mood to question as the pair of them neared the house they shared with Jems sister Krista and her young daughter. Jem was happy to note that the lights were off which meant Krista was either out or asleep, either way the night wasn't going to end on an argument like most nights usually did.


	4. TOONIES

Kate had escaped the onslaught of her brothers wanting to bond with her and on day three she had decided to go out and tour the city and was given a map and a do not visit list of places to avoid like the plague. She had spent the day mostly walking and using public transport and it was nice to get out in the fresh air and away from the stuffiness and enclosed environment that was the Riley family home.

It was getting into early evening when the cell phone she had been given by her father began to ring, the man was checking up on her every couple of hours like an overprotective parent would do and after much coaxing, she had finally appeased her fathers sense of guilt at harassing her all of the time about where she was and whether she needed a ride home.

“I lost the tail you had on me hours ago, is this why Im getting the constant phone calls?” she asked as she found herself turning onto a street and stopping, she was lost.

“Charlie was supposed to keep a discreet distance, jaysus, I just wanted to make sure you were alright” John replied.

“Ive done five tours of Afghanistan and a couple more of Iraq, I can look after myself” she muttered as she heard his exasperated sigh on the other side.

“They really were your dog tags huh?” John said in a small voice.

“Yeah, I did eight years before I left...I can use harsh language or just fight my way out of a situation if it escalates too much, don’t worry I don’t intend on getting in any scraps...got a question for you though” she said as she leant up against a sign pole and looked down the road to the lights of a bar that had just flickered to life. The map and list she had been given earlier had been absent mindedly left on a seat on a bus hours earlier.

“Sure” John said.

“Where the hell is Union Street and just how far away am I from home?” she asked as she pushed herself from off of the street sign and began to walk towards the bar, it sat on the corner of the street and already a couple of people were heading inside.

“What?” there was a change in John’s voice then as she strolled down the street.

“Union Street, looks like there’s a bar on the corner, may pop inside and have a beer” she said as she shoved her other hand into the pocket of her jacket.

“What da fuck you doing in Charlestown? Don’t move alright, Im sending your brothers Doyle and Sean as soon as possible...the area is dangerous honey alright...just don’t move and don’t talk to no fucker” John’s voice became more exasperated as she heard the line go dead.

“Jesus, calm down before you have an aneurysm” she muttered as she slid her phone into her jeans pocket and closed the distance between her and the bar.

She could hear music coming from inside, a couple of patrons had already started their party early and she wasnt about to stand in the fucking cold for anyone so she pushed the door aside and stepped in, immediately being hit with the smell of smoke and alcohol. It was like being back in London working the bar there, a smell she was very well accustomed to as much as she hated it but still, it wasnt overly offensive as she moved towards the bar and waited to be served.

“What can I get ya?” the large male with the thick set Bostonian accent asked as he sidled up behind the bar and looked her direct in the eyes.

“Whatever’s cold and doesn’t taste like piss” she said as the man’s face turned from stone to a smile as he nodded, turning to grab a cold bottle of the local beer, he snapped off the cap and handed it to her.

“Lady want a glass?” he asked as she took the bottle from him.

“I aint no lady” she replied and took a mouthful of the refreshing amber liquid.

“Not from round these parts” the bar man said then as he replaced the glass back under the bar.

“What gave it away” she countered as Frankie laughed then.

“Toonies tend to want glasses with their bottles of beer” he nodded as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Toonies?” she asked as Frankie let out a belly laugh then, shaking his head.

“Ya really not from these parts” he laughed as she smiled back, his attention diverted when one of his staff said there was a phone call for him and he excused himself.

She sat herself on one of the bar stools and pulled out the money to pay for the beer, placing it on the bar before her as she slid a sidelong glance in each direction noting who was sat where and how many were occupying the place. She felt a cool breeze to her back as the door was opened and more people poured in, four men headed to booth in the corner and were all talking away not even noticing whether there were other people there or not. She returned her attention back to the front and took another drink from the bottle when Frankie returned, his smile had softened somewhat and he looked a little more cagey then when she first walked in.

“Just spoke to your old man, didn’t know you were a Riley...beer is on the house” he said as he pushed her money back towards her.

“I pay my own way” she countered and pushed the money back in his direction.

“This place belongs to your family, so...” he gave her a wink and she took the money back, if the place belonged to her father then why was he so bent on her not being in there in the first place?

“What can I get ya Dez? The usual?” Frankie asked as he moved along the bar and heard the man’s affirmation.

“Hey, its you...Logan Airport girl...enjoying the sights?” Dez recognised her as soon as he entered the bar, she was wearing more or less the same jacket and boots as when he had driven her to her fathers a couple of days back.

“Yeah” she said, not knowing what the proper reply should really be.

“Didn’t think you’d head in this direction though...Charlestown aint famous for its boutique shopping and its quality nightlife” Dez sheepishly grinned.

“I dunno, has its own unique charm” she shrugged.


	5. BOYS NIGHT OUT

As Dez stood at the bar chatting to her, his group of Gloansy, Doug and Jem watched on in interest as their friend smiled like some kind of buffoon at the woman sat at the bar. Dez had told Doug as soon as he had seen her who she was and he had to admit to himself that she wasnt half as bad looking as he imagined she was. She was no Charlestown woman that was for sure, blue jeans on that were worn like jeans were supposed to be worn and not pulled so tight that most women would probably need a shoe horn to hoist themselves into.

A plain v neck tee in royal blue and her hair tied back loosely just enough that he noted what could be a tattoo on the back of her neck but he wasnt entirely sure not unless he got a closer look. Dez was right about the boots though, they screamed military and given half the chance a well placed kick in the groin would hurt like a mother fucker seeing as most women would normally start with the male genitalia as target practice in their first line of defence.

“See he’s found his girlfriend” Gloansy muttered as he leant back in the booths battered seating.

“Less chatting and more getting the rounds in, feel like my throats been cut with all the fuckin’ waiting here” Jem said, his back to the bar.

“You not the least bit intrigued?” Doug asked with a smile as he watched Dez pay for their drinks.

“No” Jem replied as he slid the zipper of his coat down a notch to relax more.

“Fucking liar” Doug laughed then as Dez appeared at the table and put the tray down, each man reaching for their drink of choice.

“You’re flying low” Gloansy smiled at Dez as the younger man looked down sharply to the fly of jeans and fumbled with his hands only to realise that his friend was yanking his chain and there was nothing wrong.

“Fuck you man” Dez hissed at him as he went to slide in next to Gloansy but was beaten by Doug.

“Your motha ever tell you its rude to stare” Doug hiked an eyebrow up in Dez’s direction when he realised he had been played for the seat.

“You don’t play fair McCray” Dez pointed at him as he noted the smirk on Gloansy’s face.

“Life’s a bitch” Doug smiled as he raised the glass to his lips and looked down the bar at the woman who was by now on her second bottle of beer.

“Whats her name again?” Gloansy asked, pulling out his cell phone and aiming it silently towards the bar where she sat.

“What are ya doing?” Dez asked as Gloansy took a photo and then looked at it.

“Keeping a souvenir of the woman who’s probably gonna kick your ass at some point for being an asshat” Gloansy laughed as Jem suddenly took the phone from him and looked at the photo.

“Like what you see Coughlin?” Doug smiled as Jem slid the phone across the table back to Gloansy.

“Nuttin special, seen it all before” was his reply, matter of fact.

“God, you’re a terrible bullshitter” Doug let out a laugh as Jem’s stony face lingered on his friend before returning to the half drunk glass of Jameson.

“Well, just you remember, I saw her first” Dez pointed to them.

“You aint got a hope in hell Dez, may as well give that pipe dream up right now” Gloansy muttered.

“Yeah, you have as much of a chance of scoring a date with her than Jem has cracking a smile” Doug replied as he looked back up and caught sight of her looking either at them or past them and through the window, he couldn’t tell.

Doug smiled softly at her and nodded and was rewarded with a smile back before she turned and looked back at Frankie behind the bar, their conversation restarting as Doug paid slightly more attention to what she wore and how she had looked and admittedly he had to side with Dez, she was naturally beautiful in his eyes.

“What you smiling for?” Jem asked noting the change in his demeanor.

“Nuttin’” Doug replied lifting the club soda to his lips and taking a drink.

“Now who’s da bullshitter” Jem replied.

Kate spotted the familiar black SUV pull up outside the bar and sighed, her babysitters had arrived to escort her home and she really didn’t want to leave just yet as the atmosphere in the bar upped in tempo as more people began to fill the place up and someone had started playing music in one corner. It had a nice vibe going as she started in on her second beer and had made Frankie take the money for it this time round.

A group of women had entered the bar and had taken a booth directly opposite the four men that had come in earlier, the taller one had acknowledged her presence with a smile and a nod which she returned but nothing more was said or done and she was more than happy with that. Last thing he wanted was being hit on, she had enough personal crap to deal with and the last thing she really needed was some Boston local trying to chat her up and offering to show her a good time.

“Of all the places you choose to get lost in its here?” Sean came to stop beside her and nodded to Frankie, a bottle of beer was put down before him.

“Sometimes people get lost in places like this cause they don’t want to be found” she countered as she leant forwards and watched the interplay between the group of women and the four men from earlier.

“True. So, you don’t wanna be found is that it?” Sean asked as Doyle looked around the bar, nodded to a couple of faces including Doug and his people.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to be found, I said people in general” Kate sighed.

“Old man is just concerned, rough area and all” Sean smiled at his younger sister.

“Then why own a bar in this neck of the woods if its so rough and tumble?” she looked up at Sean and he knew she had him.


	6. DING, DING...ROUND ONE

The group of girls had become more rowdy as time went on, Doyle had been watching them on and off as he caught the eye of a particular blonde who kept flashing him her pearly whites, expansive cleavage and giving him more of a show of her legs than he cared for. Tipping back the rest of the beer, Kate placed the empty bottle back down and thanked Frankie for his company before sliding from off the bar stool and noted when Doyle put himself first as they made their way towards the exit.

“Hey Doyle, how about you take me home instead of the skank you got there following you like a whore follows her sugar daddy pimp, I betcha I could take you to paradise and then some” the blonde stood wavering a little in her ridiculously high heels and drunkenly waved at him.

“Jaysus” Doyle muttered as the blonde gave Kate such a nasty assed look up and down before blowing air through heavily painted red lips.

“Maybe if you took that stick from out your arse you could stand better in those heels” Kate replied as she carried on walking behind Doyle with Sean bringing up the rear.

“What the actual fuck?” the blonde looked at Kate with hands on her hips and about ready to explode.

“Leave it be Rita for fucks sake” Sean pointed at her.

“Fuckin’ bitch” Rita snapped and threw her drink at Kate, drowning her t-shirt and part of her face before laughing.

Kate let out a small laugh and looked down at herself slightly nodding, perfectly clean tee now stinking of whiskey and skank and as she looked up through the fringe of her hair, she lost her smile and narrowed her eyes at the woman she heard Sean call ‘Rita’.

“Go home Rita, fuck” Doyle went to push the woman back down into the booth but was stopped as Kate stepped in front of him and squared up against Rita who was pulling some odd, drunken stare back at her, breasts puffed and pushed forwards, hands still firmly on hips.

Around them people had made space, Doug had turned in his seat and had eventually stood up just behind Sean’s back whispering something in his ear as Sean nodded once and informed Doug that it was all under control. Jem looked on with interest just to see how the new Riley handled a drunken assed Townie in a bar full of them.

“I can hurt you, real painful like…tell me, do you rely on your looks for your job?” Kate asked as Rita sneered back at her.

“I work telesales…what’s it to you bitch?” Rita looked Kate up and down like she was scum.

“So…nobody has to look at you right. Cold calling crap and all that jazz” Kate could smell the hours of stale alcohol on Rita’s breath she was so close to her.

“Yeah…so?” Rita laughed as the other three women continued with their barrage of hate towards Kate but in quieter tones.

“C’mon Kate” Sean had a hold of Kate’s arm but watched as his sister had the last laugh.

“Fucking foreign assed bitches coming here and taking our men” Rita made a point of poking Kate every time she spoke her words.

“Rita…Im really not sorry for this…and I suggest ice, plenty of ice” Kate replied with a smile on her lips.

Rita didn’t have much time to respond as Kate’s head snapped back and then went in hard smashing against Rita’s face and nose in particular and watched as the blonde dropped almost instantly to her knees before them holding her nose and screaming wildly as everyone looked on either shocked or nonplussed about the whole event. Doyle blinked hard at Rita then back up at his sister then back at Rita again as the screaming continued and blood had begun to drip on the wooden floor.

“Like I said, ice, bitch, lots of it” Kate softly said before she felt Sean’s hand between her shoulder blades gently pushing her towards the door and out into the cool night air.

A server had appeared to hand Rita a towel for her nose as she continued to wail and scream on the floor of the bar, some people rallied around to help the fallen woman but most had decided to stay either sat in their booths or stood at the bar not wanting to get involved with the matter.

“Jesus Christ” Gloansy blinked a few times as he watched Rita being helped back up to her feet and a phone was produced, someone was calling her a cab to take her to hospital.

“Now Im fuckin’ interested” Jem smiled then as Doug watched Kate being put into the back of an SUV and the car being driven off.

“Im in love” muttered Dez as Jem threw a cork coaster at him and warned him off such women like that.

“Hey…but its all right for you now huh, now she’s put Rita in her place” Dez picked up the coaster and threw it back at Jem half assed.

“Guess she’s a Riley after all” Gloansy blinked and looked down at his empty beer bottle.

“Rita’s had it coming for weeks now but no other woman has wanted to take her on” Dez muttered.

“One minute ya queen of the bitches and the next ya picking up ya nose from off a dirty bar floor…swings and roundabouts” Jem said as Doug turned to look at him.

“Since when the fuck did you become all poetic?” he asked his friend.

“Since Rita Malone got her ass handed to her…or should that be nose” Jem shrugged his shoulders and took Gloansy’s phone back off of him finding the photo he had taken of Kate and looking at it some more.

“She wasnt handed her nose Jem, it fell to the floor” Gloansy laughed as Jem smirked.


End file.
